A developer of mobility technologies, Aptiv (formerly Delphi Automotive), has announced the expansion of its autonomous driving capabilities to the Chinese market with the establishment of the company’s China Autonomous Mobility Center in Shanghai.
Furthering the company’s expertise in the development of automated driving systems and its commitment to commercially deploying the technology, the opening of Aptiv’s China Autonomous Mobility Center extends the company’s self-driving operations, joining Boston, Singapore, Pittsburgh and Las Vegas as one of its autonomous driving engineering hubs.
Located in Shanghai, the new Center will focus on development and application of the company’s SAE Level 4 (high automation under certain conditions) autonomous driving technology. As Delphi Automotive, Aptiv began operations in China in 1993, and has a strong engineering and manufacturing presence in the country with advanced safety, connectivity and security, infotainment and user experience systems, as well as electrical architectures for both internal combustion and new energy vehicles.
To coincide with its autonomous vehicle (AV) testing program in Shanghai, the company is actively in discussions with potential partners for mapping and commercial deployment of Aptiv’s vehicles with ride-hailing companies in China. This is consistent with the company’s approach in other markets, as it allows Aptiv to gain real-world experience with the general public and supports broader technology and IP development, two critical components to grow commercial deployment and develop future mobility solutions.
Aptiv has previous experience of the Southeast Asia market through AV developer NuTonomy, which the company acquired in 2017. In August 2016, NuTonomy launched an autonomous taxi service in Singapore with a fleet of modified Renault and Mitsubishi vehicles.
Aptiv was the first company to commercially deploy autonomous vehicles globally. It has been giving rides to consumers in Las Vegas since May 2018, in partnership with ride-hailing app Lyft, and is conducting Automated Mobility on Demand (AMOD) research, development and testing in Boston, Pittsburgh and Singapore.
To date, Aptiv’s commercial program has provided 40,000 paid autonomous rides, servicing more than 2,100 destinations across the city of Las Vegas and Clark County in Nevada, while maintaining a nearly perfect average passenger rating of 4.95 out of five stars.
“With high market acceptance to autonomous driving in China, we see a strong demand for autonomous driving technologies in the Chinese market,” said Karl Iagnemma, president of Aptiv Autonomous Mobility and co-founder of NuTonomy.
“We are excited to expand to the Chinese market, bringing our autonomous driving expertise and capabilities to the region. This expansion is significant for China, and globally, as it takes us one step closer to broader adoption of automated mobility.”
